OBJECTIVES: The long-term goal of this research program is to develop a body of reliable data that courts, legislatures and government agencies can use to recognize and protect the civil liberties of homosexual men and women. There are 5 research questions: 1) How is homosexuality related to the abridgement of the civil liberties of men and women? 2) Which, if any, civil liberties of homosexual men and women are abridged? 3) How are departures from stereotypic conceptions of masculine and feminine appearance, behavior, and personality related to abridgment of civil liberties? 4) What is the impact on institutions of abridgment of civil liberties of homosexual men and women? 5) What is the impact of abridgment of civil liberties on the lives of homosexual men and women? METHODOLOGY: An interview schedule and manual, and coding booklet and manual have been developed and are now being tested and revised for improved reliability and validity. This proposal will utilize those instruments in a national study of the status of civil liberties of homosexual men and women. A sample of 4,000 respondents will be interviewed in five geographic regions of the nation over a two-year period. Respondents will be men and women and heterosexuals and homosexuals. They will be selected to represent diversity of ages and ethnic and racial backgrounds. They will be chosen from areas in which there is variance in cultural stereotypes of masculinity and femininity, religious views on sexuality and homosexuality, and legal status of homosexual conduct.